Thingymagig at the edge of lawns.

Could very well be.
Perhaps for something like the pic below? (to create temporary "no-go" areas for vehicles?)

 

I asked my old Dad and he said he thought they was used as a 'plumb line' ,usually with two thingymajigs ,one at one end and one at the other ,used on borders for measuring out even trenches and planting ...

 

Best suggestion yet!!!

Val

 

If anyone would like to make these, these are instructions from someone who has made them in the past for a big garden. (He didn't know what their true purpose was, though)

Each one is approx' 18" long, cut from a 4" square Treated Timber...a Broom Handle (cheaper than a length of Dowling)...cut the Broom into 15" lengths....from the ends of the 4" Timber mark a line 3" in on both ends and drill 2 holes slightly under the dia' of the handles...the 3rd hole is drilled in the centre i.e. 9" in...but make sure its the OPPOSITE SIDE of the 2 Holes already Drilled...this will give you the X ...

I bet Zigs will be the first to make one and show us a picture.

 

So why make them if he didn't know what they are for? This gets even stranger!

 

It's like DIY Russian Roulette, you don't know what the end result will be 'till it's all done.

 

Right, a touch of analysis! The wood where the two prongs are looks discoloured so that suggests to me this side was pushed into the ground. That in turn means the single prong would lay horizontal, but why? If the horizontal part was laid end to end in a line and there were two rows say, 3ft apart, that would create a railway line effect. Could something have rested on them, boarding perhaps over boggy ground? The only other thing I'm thinking is a guide for white-lining but the wood the two prongs are attached to would get in the way!

 

He was employed as a gardener, when he was younger, in a big garden and was TOLD to make them.
The sticks don't poke into the ground. They just rest on the bottom of the three broom handle bits. Any that I saw were always painted brilliant white and really stood out against a manicured lawn. The one in the picture, which was taken a couple of days ago, has obviously been left to languish. Standards these days! Tut! Tut!

 

We Need to Know Now !!!
Are they a conundrum set by a fiendish Victorian gardener to confuse the hell out of us in 21st century We need the GC X-Files team on this one